Winding reel



Feb. .2@9 X923 B. BENNETT ET AL.

wINDNG REEL 2 sheets sheet l.,

Filed Mar.

NMMMMWJ lAAAl@ Feb. Z, M23.'

S. B. BENNETT ET AL WINDING REEL Filed Mgr. 51, 1922 2 sheets-sheet 2 NVA.,

WIM/8858 Patented Feb.. Z, lt-92236 1 p narran creeren..

SANDY BOYD BENNETT, OF SAN DEGO, CAL'LFORNIA, AND DONALD MCCORMICK HUDSON, F BEND, OREGON.

WINDNG REEL.

Application filed March 31, 1922. Serial No. 548,335.

T 0 all who/m, 'it may @0n/3mm; Referring in detail t0 Figures l and 2 0f Be it known that we,.SANnY B. BENNETT the drawings, we have used the reference and DONALD McCoRMroK Henson, citizens numeral 1 to designate a suitable bracket of the United States, and residents, respecupon which a circular casing 2 is mounted.

5 tively, ot' San Diego, in the county of San The reference numeral 3 indicates a length 60 Diego and State or' California, and of Bend, of line. `We have shown this line in the in the county of Deschutes and StateV of form of a hose ortube to more fully bring Oregon, have invented a new and Improved out the fact that the line can be wound with- Tinding Reel, of which the following is a out disturbing a passage lof iiuid therefull, clear, and exact description. through and without injuring the tube. T he 65 This invention relates to improvement .in casing is providedl at opposite sides with winding reels, the principal object of the inbearing sleeves 4, a spindle 5 being fixed in vention being to provide a reel of this charv one ofthese bearing sleeves/ A hub 6 inacter which may be used for Winding iine cludes an axle 7 journaled in the other bean Vintermediate portion of a .line to shorten he ingsleeve, and a centrally bored gear wheel 'z I length of the line without disturbing iiuid 8 carried by the hub revolves, upon the end flow, or the passage of an electrical current of the spindle 5.

' through the line which is wound. An arm 9 fixed to the hub carries at op- A further object is to provide a reel of posite sides a pair of idle pinions 10, meshthis character which can be used/for winding with the gear 8 of the spindle. A spring 75 ing air or water hose, electric wire, etc., housing 1l is mounted to rotate about a which can be attached to a telephone to take bushing 12 fixed to the spindle 5 and is up slack wire, which may b'e used in connecformed with a ring gear 13, which is engaged tion with the air hose line of garages, and in by` the two p inions 10 to drive the same as fact, a device which will be of universalv the hub 7 is turned. A convolute spring 14 80 value for winding power transmitting lines, within the spring housing has one end ator any other flexible devices where it 'is tached to the bushing 12 and its other end necessary that these linesbe wound or shortattached to the spring housing 11 so that ened Without disturbing the two ends of the turning or" this housing in one direction will ine. I wind the spring and increase tension on the 85 A still further object is to provide a windsame. ing reel of this character, having manifold A reel 15 is integral with the hub, said uses, which will be simple and practical in reel being provided with side flanges 1.6 to construction, strong, durable and eiiicient in prevent a line from slipping sidewise thereuse, which will occupy a comparatively on. The spool portion 17 ot the reel eneo small amount of space, and which may be circles the spring housing lt so that the economically manufactured.. `winding occupies a comparatively small With these and other objects in view, the amount of space, the spring housing and its invention consists in certain novel features associated parts being accommodated with- 40 of construction andf combinations and arin the reel. 95 rangements of parts as will be more fully A partition 18 provided with a central hereinafter described and pointed outI in the opening Jfor the accommodation of the hub 6 claims. i separates the reel from one side wall of the In the accom an ind drawinvsz casino- 2 and arovides a com aartment 19 b o a Figure 1 is a view in transverse section wherein surplus line is adapted to be un- 100 through our improved winding device; A wound and rewound as the line on the reel Figure 2 is a view in longitudinal section is delivered or pulled out. v therethrough; f v It. has been heretofore noted that the de- Figures 3, 4,' 5 and 6 are similar views in vice was intended for taking up slack in the section show-ing the successive positions asintermediate portion of afl line and for the 105 sumed by the surplus line on the hub as the purposes oir' describing the operation of the lmain line is unwound from the reel; and device, it may be assumed that one end 2O Figure is a view in section illustrating of the line is connected to a suitable source a slightly modified form of reel for winding of supply, such as an air tank, and the other end 21 of the line leads to'the nozzle of the lit and delivered through an opening 26 in the casing proper.

In operation, when all the slack has been taken in, there are a plurality' of convolutions of line" around the reel and also a plurality of convolutions of line around the hub 6 within the chamber 19. When itis desired to extend the line, it is manually pulled through the slot 26 inthe casing to any desired length. As the line is dragged from the reel 17, the turning ofthe hub 6 serves also to unwind the line on the hub in the chamber 19. i

lt is to be noted, however, with particu lar reference to Figures 3, 4, 5 and 6, that the unwinding of all of the line from the hub 6 does not check the unwinding from the reel 15. After all of the line has been unwound from the hub, as indicated in Figure 5 of the drawings, continued turning of the hub will start rewinding in the chamber 19 in the opposite direction, so that the line on the hub is both unwound and completely rewound before the unwinding of the line on the reel is checked.

rEarning of the hub operates through the speed reducing gears 8, 9 and` 10 to turn the spring housing 11 `and wind the spring 14.

It is to be noted, however, that by virtue of the reducing gears, the speed of turning of the spring housing is considerably less than the speed with which the reel is turned, so that the spring will not be too rapidly wound. Whenever sufficient line has been delivered from the reel, automatic means is provided for preventing the accidental rewinding 'of the same. This means is in the form of locking dogs 27 pivotally mounted upon the reel 15 and engageable with a lug or projection 28 which extends inwardly from the partition 18. Une of the dogs'will engage with this lug to prevent accidental rewinding. VVhemhowever, it is desired to rewind the line, the lineis given a quick jerc throwing the dogs out of engagement with the projection 28 and the action of the spring will quickly rewind the line upon the reel, the dogs being held out of engagement with the lugs by centrifugal force and operatingsubstantially on the principle of the check device used on many well known screen rollers.

Rewinding of the line on the reel will again operate to unwind and rewind the surplus line on the hub. The particular method of winding the` line upon the hub and reel absolutely prevents kinking, twisting, or

crawling of the line during the unwinding or rewmdmg operation, so that the .chance of fluid flow through the line heilig interrupted is entirely obviated.

In Figure 7 of the drawings, we have illustrated a slightlyv modified form` of reel which is capable of economical manufacture, and which is primarily intended for winding electric wires or other lines. or flexible devices which are lighter than air hose or fluid supply tubes. This winding device ma \v be installed in the base of an ordinary telephone standard or upon the bell box. or in' any other convenient position, or in taking up slack wire on telephone extensions. lt also may be mounted upon an electrical appliance such as a vacuum cleaner, adding machine, lamp, chafing dish, spot light, hair clipper,.ete., to take up slack therein. j

In this form of the device, we illustrate a casing 3l). A bracket 31-within the casing provides mount-ing for a spindle 3Q about which a reel 33 is mounted to revolve. The reel serves as the housing for aA convolute spring 34 having its ends secured to the spindle and the yreel respectively. A chamber 35 for surplus wire is likewise provided in this form of the device, 'and a hub extension 36 carried by the reel turns in the chamber. The partition 37 defining one wall of the surplus wire chamber instead of being fixed to the housing is carried by the reel and the line 38 instead of being passed through the hub is delivered directly from the chamber to the reel. The operation of the device is substantially'the same exceptthat no check is provided, but with both forms of the device, unwinding of the line on the reel serves to unwind and rewind the line on the hub.

Obviously the invention could be carried out in many ways, and various slight changes in structure might be resorted to, hence we do not wish to limit ourselves to the precise details set forth` but shall consider ourselves at liberty to make such slight changes and alterations as fairly fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

ln conclusion, we wish to emphasize that the use of the winding reel is practically unlimited, and that it may be used in any connection for winding any type of flexible device'. h l

1n the appended claims, the opening clause, mentioning a device of the kind described, refrsalways to a device of the following description, to wit, a reeling device for an elongated flexible element, and

characterized by the provision of a housing mediate lengths of such an'element, whereby 'l when one of such lengths, hereinafter called the main length, is withdrawn from the housing by being unwoundin its entirety ifiecgiio from one of the rotatable elements, the otherv length, hereinafter called the compensating length, is held in its entirety to a coiling` and uncoiliiig movement in an appointed chamber surrounding the second rotatable element. As is well known inthe" art, a device of -such kind has heretofore been proposed, as in the United States -Paten,` to Champion, N o. 1,153,029; but the means for confining and guiding the various parts of the element in theraeling device has been limited to an arrangement to give a limited restraint to a third length of the flexible elementconstituting a connector portion of the element between the main and compensating lengths thereof, and hereinafter called the, connector length.l

The appended claims, therefore, are in the main directed to the novel features of the present invention involved in the revision of confining and guiding means o the new" type shown in the accompanying drawings, that is to say, confining and guiding means not only for all parts of the compensating length but also Vfor all parts of the con- .hector-length, to reduce very greatly the total length of flexible element required relative to any main-length requirement, consonant with a theory-of operation mentioned in United StatesPatent to Craft No. 840,-

200, to wit, the use of a compensating length to be completely uncoiled and then immediately recoiled during each complete withdrawal of the main length, to the end that a compensating length may be'incorporated which is so short that it includes only half as many coils as the main length when thelatter is completely reeled up, and so that at the same time there is minimized any chance whatever of kinking or coil-entanglement of the compensating length, or entanglement or ,interference between the'l compensating and connector lengths, or any limitation whatsoever inthe use of' the reeling device, due `tothe possibility of distorting or twisting the-iexible element in any part, in regard to thel nature of the, exible element employed, ifso`.that even a tube for conducting a Huid 'or a gas may be used.

We claim:

l. In a device of the kind described, reel- "ing-means fora flexible element including the/combination of a first vrotatable member 'for the main length of said element, a second rotatable member for the compensating single plane, said confining and guiding means including a retaining means for the compensating length comprising two wall members surrounding the second rotatable member Aand having opposed plane faces with such. faces spaced apart ai distance substantiallyA equal to the thickness of said flexible member.

- 2. In a device of the kind described, reeling means for a flexible element including the combination of a first rotatable member for the main length of said element, a second rotatable member for the compensating length of said element, and -confining and guiding means for said compensating length and the connector length of said element adapted to permit the compensating length to be woundA on its rotatable'member tothe extent of more than two full coils in either direction but adapted always to maintain all the coils of said compensating length stantially equal to the thickness. of said fiexible element, said confining; and guiding means also including a retaining means for the connectoi,y length including a, recess in the second rotatable member opening into4 the space betweenv such two walls."

SANDY BoYD BENNiirr. DONALD MCcoRMioit HUDSON.. 

